Topic for the week of July 31 – August 6:
How have your reading habits changed over time? (Lydia @ Lydia Scoch).
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, I (Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
Book Blogger Hop topic for the week of July 31 – August 6:
How have your reading habits changed over time? (Lydia @ Lydia Scoch).
They haven’t… bye!
No, but seriously, if I think about it, I guess they must have changed. I mean, I recently turned 63, and I also recently retired, so I’m thinking my reading habits MUST have changed just because I’ve been around a (long) while, so let’s see where this takes me. Here are my answers to the questions that Lydia posed.
Do you read more or less in general now?
Actually, I’m probably reading a whole lot more these days. One reason for that is because of the invention of eBooks. See, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t live in an English speaking country, and almost all of the libraries here don’t seem to have any selection of books in English. Buying books, even second-hand, can be a drain on one’s finances, of course. Plus, since I’ve been blogging, I’ve been able to ask for ARCs via NetGalley and Edelweiss, so using an eReader has become one of my ways to read. This means that I’m always reading two books at once – one in print and one on my Kindle. Before then, I only read one book at a time.
Now that I’m retired, I’m home much more (unrelated to Covid-19), which means I have more time for reading as well. In fact, I can see from my Goodreads reading challenges that already after I stopped working full-time, I started reading more. I’ve gone from barely being able to read 30 books a year, to about 50 books a year. Furthermore, it is very possible that this year I’ll be able to up that to 55!
Have the sorts of books you read changed since you first got into reading?
I’ve been into reading ALL of my life, so obviously, I don’t read the same types of books I read when I was young, or when I was in school – people change and grow, and I believe, so do their tastes. Mind you, I think that essentially, my taste hasn’t changed all that much. I was never really into fantasy, and it still doesn’t appeal. In fact, I have much less patience for anything that isn’t based at least mostly in reality. Perhaps when I was 
younger I read more romantic books than I do now, but I’ve never cared much for anything that’s mushy or erotic or angst ridden. I know I read more Science Fiction when I was younger, and while I’m not totally averse to something that would be considered “classic” Sci-Fi, I’d just prefer not to read them. Having once devoured as many Agathe Christie as I could get my hands on, I’ve been on the lookout for an author who can write books that enchant me like hers did, and I may have found one recently (see my review of “The War Widow” by Tara Moss), although that’s more crime than murder mystery. Still, I’ll keep an open mind about those.
Does blogging change the way you read?
Um… maybe, but just a little. I mean, reading other reviews and blogs have turned me onto books I might not have known about, so there is that. Also, now that I get so many ARCs, I try to read them as close to publication date as possible instead of as soon as I read them, so that I can publish my reviews as near to publication date as I can. I used to just read them first-come-first-served, regardless of the publication date. But now I’m more organized and this might be because of my blogging. Obviously, if I wasn’t blogging I wouldn’t be getting all these ARCs so there’s that as well.
And… that’s it!
What about you? Have your reading habits changed over time?
Thanks again to Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer for this blog hop, and Lydia @ Lydia Scoch for this topic!
This post is also my 15th entry in the 2020 Discussion Challenge, hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight!
The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog 
Blogging has definitely made me read more new books—before I blogged, I just read whatever I happened upon at the library!
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Same here…
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Definitely broader. Maybe because of the internet and people’s recommendations. I used to read romance and detective stories pretty exclusively, but now I read a much wider variety of genres
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Congratulations on your retirement. I love being retired. I am still busy, but it is doing things I choose. My reading changed a lot after retirement. I had more time to read and when my husband passed, it gave me even more time to read. Reading blogs changed what I read, in the sense that I am reading books recommended that I probably would not have picked up before. I love this post and topic.
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Thanks
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My reading habits during Corona pandemic have changed from enjoying “dark stuff” as well as escape reading and psychological thrillers to keeping to lighter, definitely time-consuming escapes, especially to other countries. I am reading more non-fiction and self help than ever, as well as more spiritual and uplifting things. Overcomers are now my favorite protagonists! All thanks to the isolation and more reading time now that I am a hermit and staying home.
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Yes, there are times I want lighter stuff too. Thanks for your input (and thanks for the coffee, too. That was so sweet)!
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My reading habits did change when I started blogging and got caught up in the FOMO need to read what everyone else was reading for a year or two. But I’ve noticed that I’ve reverted back to my lifelong mix of classics, mysteries and a bit of contemporary lit-fic now, for the most part, and happily miss most of the blockbuster bestsellers. One major change, though, is that I drifted into reading vintage horror and weird fiction a few years ago and that’s now become a fixture of my reading each autumn. Happy retirement! I too have just officially entered that phase of life and can’t wait to do nothing for many years to come… 😉
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Well, I’m not doing nothing, but yes, it is good to have less responsibilities. It does take a while to get into your own niche and not be overly influenced by others when you start on a blog. I’ve started to cull my subscriptions to blogs that only seem to focus on genres I would never read.
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My privilege!
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My reading habits have changed since starting this blog. Now, I am conscious of time and how long I spend reading a book. Also, what I read next is determined by my review schedule rather than mood.
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Yes, I try to read and review ARCs according to their release date as well – mood not withstanding.
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I used to read a lot more when I was a kid, because I had more time! I’ve got so many books to read, but, between work and house stuff, they just don’t get read.
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I didn’t know you had actually retired! Congrats! 🙌 welcome to relaxed living!
When I worked I only read in the summer because I read compulsively and it would always interfere with lesson planning or grading! Since I retired I read like it’s my job and, of course, now I read for my blog! So my reading has really changed recently! For the first time I can read whenever I want and for as long as I want! I remember when my kids were little staying up late to read because it was my only alone time and then I paid for it the next day! I think the reading life definitely has seasons!
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Yes, I officially retired on July 15, so I’m new at this. I am hoping to work on my novel, but my husband suddenly decided that we should sell our apartment and buy something else, so that’s taking up some time.
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{{{{{Groan}}}}} I dislike moving a great deal! I hope you find a new home with a delightful writing space!
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